We all know at least one. Whether we have seen them in the movies, read about them in the books, or maybe even know of them through myth. The rebel, the one who can’t go by the rules, who won’t go by the rules. In one way or another we can all relate to this rebellious archetype. We can all say we may have bent the rules a bit in certain situations, or perhaps flat out disobeyed them, sometimes with good reasoning. The rebel isn’t always a misfit; in fact one from our modern film would be William Wallace in Braveheart, played by Mel Gibson.We can also look back to mythology to find a few more. Like two very interesting rebels, Prometheus, and Hydranes. **Prometheus** was a tricky one, whose rebelliousness is a product of jealousy. Prometheus was a god long before the great Zeus who took the throne of eternity. Prometheus was not going to just sit around and let this be. His first attempt of payback was to make one sacrifice of fat and bones and another of the finest meat. He wrapped the fat in a way that appeared to be a fantastic tribute of the two; however Zeus saw right through this and did not punish Prometheus, but warned him. When told not to interfere with the mortals, who Zeus believed should live primitively, Prometheus went and deceived him by giving the mortals gifts of woodworking, telling the seasons by the stars, numbers, the alphabet (for remembering things), yoked oxen, carriages, saddles, ships and sails. He did however go too far when he stole fire from Zeus to give to the mortals which would lead to much production on the land. Zeus was furious and punished Prometheus by havingHephaistos shackle Prometheus to the side of a crag high in the Caucasus Mountains. There Prometheus would hang as Zeus’s eagle would come by every day and tear of a part of his flesh and attempted to get his liver. Every night as the frost would settle on his skin it would mend his fresh wounds, making it so the eagle could start a new by each dawn. However Prometheus wasn’t the only mythological rebel. Hydranes was a completely different type of rebel than Prometheus was. While Prometheus did things for the greater good of his subject, Hydranes did a terrible thing to help a friend. Yes, you may argue the fact that well he was helping a friend, but what about the damage it caused? The pain and suffering that had to be endured? Hydranes joined the rebellion of the Persians and plotted to murder the false smerdis and reclaim the thrown of the empire for Otanes. Otanes happened to be a very good friend of Hydranes. Hydranes and seven others fought their way into the false king’s chamber and killed him. By doing so Otanes regained the crown and Hydranes was given several privileges. Many were terrible such as him being able to have his way with the women of Persia. Now rebels are not only found in mythology, they can also be found in modern film today. **William Wallace** of Braveheart was a rebel in that he was a Scotsman who decided to rebel against the English who were taking over Scotland. At first William Wallace did not want to fight, but to only settle down and start a family. When someone very dear to Wallace was murdered by the English he decided to take action. Wallace realized that the Scotsman just couldn’t take that anymore, it wasn’t right! While starting out by himself in this rebellion other began to join all for a common cause. William Wallace went against the rules, did what he believe, rebelled, and in the end while dying before reaching his glory, the Scottish did end victoriously. If one truly stands back and takes a good look at the rebel archetype, It shows that there is a rebel in all of us. While some choose to keep to themselves, the rebel bursts out, says what they believe goes against the natural order of things. Some are too afraid to stand up and go against the norm. Some need the rebel to show that even when thought to be impossible, they can certainly stand up and do what they believe is right. The rebel will always be around, it wont be going anywhere, anytime soon.
**Prometheus** was a tricky one, whose rebelliousness is a product of jealousy. Prometheus was a god long before the great Zeus who took the throne of eternity. Prometheus was not going to just sit around and let this be. His first attempt of payback was to make one sacrifice of fat and bones and another of the finest meat. He wrapped the fat in a way that appeared to be a fantastic tribute of the two; however Zeus saw right through this and did not punish Prometheus, but warned him. When told not to interfere with the mortals, who Zeus believed should live primitively, Prometheus went and deceived him by giving the mortals gifts of woodworking, telling the seasons by the stars, numbers, the alphabet (for remembering things), yoked oxen, carriages, saddles, ships and sails. He did however go too far when he stole fire from Zeus to give to the mortals which would lead to much production on the land. Zeus was furious and punished Prometheus by having Hephaistos shackle Prometheus to the side of a crag high in the Caucasus Mountains. There Prometheus would hang as Zeus’s eagle would come by every day and tear of a part of his flesh and attempted to get his liver. Every night as the frost would settle on his skin it would mend his fresh wounds, making it so the eagle could start a new by each dawn. However Prometheus wasn’t the only mythological rebel.
Hydranes was a completely different type of rebel than Prometheus was. While Prometheus did things for the greater good of his subject, Hydranes did a terrible thing to help a friend. Yes, you may argue the fact that well he was helping a friend, but what about the damage it caused? The pain and suffering that had to be endured? Hydranes joined the rebellion of the Persians and plotted to murder the false smerdis and reclaim the thrown of the empire for Otanes. Otanes happened to be a very good friend of Hydranes. Hydranes and seven others fought their way into the false king’s chamber and killed him. By doing so Otanes regained the crown and Hydranes was given several privileges. Many were terrible such as him being able to have his way with the women of Persia.
Now rebels are not only found in mythology, they can also be found in modern film today. **William Wallace** of Braveheart was a rebel in that he was a Scotsman who decided to rebel against the English who were taking over Scotland. At first William Wallace did not want to fight, but to only settle down and start a family. When someone very dear to Wallace was murdered by the English he decided to take action. Wallace realized that the Scotsman just couldn’t take that anymore, it wasn’t right! While starting out by himself in this rebellion other began to join all for a common cause. William Wallace went against the rules, did what he believe, rebelled, and in the end while dying before reaching his glory, the Scottish did end victoriously.
If one truly stands back and takes a good look at the rebel archetype, It shows that there is a rebel in all of us. While some choose to keep to themselves, the rebel bursts out, says what they believe goes against the natural order of things. Some are too afraid to stand up and go against the norm. Some need the rebel to show that even when thought to be impossible, they can certainly stand up and do what they believe is right. The rebel will always be around, it wont be going anywhere, anytime soon.